30 November 2021: Cuomo's PR Flack Called Out for False Statements

An errant op-ed: Rich Azzopardi, Gov. Cuomo and Attorney General Tish James

On 20 August 2021, the New York Daily News ran a hit piece by Andrew M. Cuomo's chief PR flack Richard Azzopardi accusing the state attorney general of using the probe of allegations of sexual harassment by Cuomo to "railroad" Cuomo out of office. The editors who green-lighted the op-ed have identified problems with claims made by Azzopardi in it following the release of testimony transcripts from the state attorney general's probe.

On Aug. 20, a few weeks after the release of the independent report on sexual harassment claims against Andrew Cuomo ordered up by Attorney General Tish James, we ran a piece of commentary by Rich Azzopardi, then and still Cuomo’s spokesman. Much of what he wrote as he built the argument that Cuomo had been railroaded was and is true.

But two assertions were not, a reality made more galling because we asked Azzopardi to reassure us that his recollection was sound. The Monday release of transcripts by the attorney general proves that his op-ed got two significant points wrong.

Azzopardi said that in the hours he spent being interviewed in the probe, far too much time was spent on “inane and sometimes bizarre lines of questioning.” One of two colorful examples, in his own words: “Did Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, wear high heels? Sometimes, but she wore Converse more.” We couldn’t check Azzopardi’s transcript then because the AG’s office had yet to make it public, so we relied upon his insistent reassurance. The following day, James’ office challenged his account. We asked to see the transcript; they declined.

Now that the full Q-and-A session is public, it’s clear: No one ever asked Azzopardi about what DeRosa wore. That was a pure fabrication. Azzopardi tells us he spent lots of time prepping, and he must have conflated practice sessions with reality. That’s rich.

He also got it wrong when he wrote that investigators “threatened Executive Chamber employees with possible jail time if we spoke about our testimony.” There was no such threat, just reference to the executive law under which the inquiry was being conducted, which says unauthorized disclosure is a misdemeanor. We’re sorry we printed two lies.

Andrew M. Cuomo desperately needs better PR people and more legal help.